Learning To Forgive
by AllThingsAnimeAndFiction1992
Summary: A simple order from the Hokage to deliver a message to the Kazekage turns much more complicated than one would expect. But no one even thought that THEY were still alive. Rated M for violence, abusive language and lemons in later chapters. This IS a SakuAka fic. Don't like the pairing then don't read.
1. Chapter 1

Hi guys! So this is my first shot at a Naruto fanfiction. I will probably need tips and pointers; constructive criticism is always welcome xD I apologize for anything that I got wrong in regards to the Akatsuki or to Sakura. Please let me know how you like it :D

Learning To Forgive

The wind rustled through the trees as a petite figure flew past; the sound of a branch cracking as a foot hit a branch echoed around the otherwise empty area. Bright jade eyes stared straight ahead in concentration; only shifting every once in a while to scan the area around herself. Short startling pink locks twisted around the girls head as she moved faster than a civilian eye could catch. A few minutes later, Sakura Haruno stopped her movement and jumped down from the trees; landing with a soft thud, she groaned and stretched her arms above her head as she tossed her bag down by the base of a tree.

Scanning the area once more, and feeling out with her chakra tentatively, she turned and sat down; quite satisfied that she was alone and fine. Taking a bottle from her bag, she gulped down greedily before forcing herself to stop; not wanting to get sick all over herself in her hurry for water. Sighing happily, she placed the bottle back in the bag before leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest; tilting her head back against the tree she looked up at the bright blue sky with a small smile. She wondered where Naruto and Kakashi were; all she knew was that right before she had been sent out to deliver a message to Suna the two had gotten a mission. She wouldn't be surprised if it was about Sasuke; the thought had her closing her eyes and cringing.

Most people knew about the girls infatuation with the young Uchiha when she was younger; however, after bearing her heart to him that last time and still knowing he left she was slowly getting over it. Now the thought of the Uchiha simply made her blood boil; she could recall in her minds eye as clear as day the last time she had seen him. It was on a bridge; and, despite the fact she knew she had to, she couldn't quite bring herself to attack him. If Kakashi hadn't shown up when he had she would surely be dead right now. Shaking herself free of those morbid thoughts, Sakura opened her eyes; squinting up at the bright sky she wondered just how long she had let herself daydream for. Standing quickly, she zipped her bag and flung it over her shoulders; she hadn't made it out of Konoha territory yet and she had wasted valuable time in her musings.

Groaning to herself, Sakura forced chakra into her legs and feet and took back off into the trees; a little while later she jumped down when she spotted the end of the treeline and the beginning of Land Of Sand. 'That's going to be fun' she thought to herself sarcastically. She was just at the edge of the desert when the flare of chakra alerted her to another presence; and not just one. Cursing aloud, she pulled quickly back into the tree line and masked her chakra as she jumped high into a tree; hidden behind a few branches she narrowed her jade eyes as she quickly scanned the area looking for the source of the rather ominous feeling chakra signatures.

She discovered the source not even five minutes later when a group of figures appeared down the way from her several feet; cursing her luck as her eyes caught onto the pitch black cloaks with the red cloud designs on them. "You've got to be fucking kidding me" she hissed under her breath as she pushed herself further into the green of the tree. It was just her luck really that she would run into the most hated and feared organization on the planet; really she shouldn't have been surprised. It had been a few years since anyone had heard anything out of them; after their leader, Pein, and his partner, Konan, had been killed by one of their other members the remaining few had gone into hiding.

As she forced herself to remain still and not flee like her life depended on it, she watched as the group made their way into the sand; a man with silvery slicked back hair could be heard complaining even where she was standing. As she caught a glimpse of his purple eyes, looking oddly matched with his hair and tan skin, she went cold down to her toes as she knew right away who that was. Information not only from the Bingo Book but also from fellow Rookie Nine ninjas had her naming him off the bat; Hidan. Jashinist and member of the Akatsuki… And killer of Asuma Sarutobi. Next to him, and looking quite irate with the fact, was a man all but hidden beneath robes and a mask over his head and face; however, the creepy but distinct coloring of his eyes immediately gave him away as Kakuzu… Hidans partner.

Supposedly he had this huge hang up on making money; the way Kakashi and the others had described him was nothing short of monstrous. Moving on from him, she didn't need to see his face to know who the next one was; standing a little behind the others was none other than Itachi Uchiha; murderer of his clan and rogue ninja of the Leaf and the reason Sasuke defected from his home village in the first place. Rage, pure and unadulterated, ran through Sakura so hard it took all she had not to lunge out of the tree and shove a kunai in the traitors eyeballs. And next to HIM was someone else she knew; Kisame Hoshigaki. A tall blue skinned shark like man with beady little eyes and a feral grin on his face; according to Guy-sensei the fight with him had been hard to say the least. That sword strapped on his back, Samehada if she remembered correctly, was able to sap chakra from a person; even without touching, getting close was enough for it to do the job.

There was one more; and to say she was surprised was an understatement. Standing next to the others, but looking far from being happy, was none other than the Explosionist everyone thought to have died in the fight with Kakashi. Deidara stood with his arms folded and scanning the area around him; she didn't know much about this guy. All she knew was that he had some sort of Kekkai Genkai that no one really knew much about; he had mouths on his hands that allowed him to shape and use clay for whatever he wished it to do. Thinking back to her fight with his ex partner, Sasori Of The Red Sand, she shuddered recalling the casual way he had sat on the Kazekages corpse. Thanks to Chiyo, Gaara was revived and now back in his village with his brother Kankuro and sister Temari; she couldn't help the small giggle that escaped as she thought about the girl with her friend Shikarmaru.

Shaking her head to clear it, she was brought back into the present and she narrowed her eyes as she realized belatedly that the group she had been looking at was now gone. "Son of a BI-" her cursing was cut off as the chakra flared again and she twisted quickly; only to come face to face with burning red eyes. Cursing again she turned and leapt backwards; closing her eyes at the same time so she didn't get caught in his infamous genjutsu. The hot sun beat down on her skin as she skid into the sand and slowly came to a stop; opening her eyes she groaned and cursed her luck yet again. Standing before her were all five members; although she should have guessed they wouldn't have gone anywhere without Itachi. A deep baritone voice interrupted her musings and her jade eyes immediately snapped towards the tall man who had spoken; Kakuzu simply looked at her impassively. "Sakura Haruno if I remember correctly. According to the Bingo Book you would fetch quite the hefty price" he said softly; the menace rolling off his tongue made her go rigid and she immediately dropped into a fighting stance.

"Relax kunoichi. As much as Kakuzu would enjoy tearing into you I'm afraid I cannot allow that" another soft voice spoke up and she turned much slower to face Itachi; she kept her eyes firmly on his chin as she scowled. "Oh I suppose I should be grateful then" she said; sarcasm dripping from her voice and causing the tall blue man behind him to roar with laughter. "Oh she's feisty Itachi. I think I like her" a shark toothed grin met her gaze and she repressed a shudder. Seeing this only caused Kisame to grin wider at her and she tried her hardest to remain scowling; for some reason his grin seemed to be slightly contagious.

As Sakura looked from one to the other she calculated quickly her chances of getting away alive; which were not really looking all that great if she was being honest. Going up against one of them would have been hard enough; forget five and forget the fact that she was alone. The only thing that mildly surprised her about the situation was that they had come so close to the borders of Suna and Kona… Which begged the question why?

"OI! Bitch stop being such a fucking space case and pay the hell attention!" a loud angry voice interrupted her musings and she felt her eyebrow twitch in anger. Her jade eyes narrowed and she slowly turned towards the grinning Jashinist who simply stared back at her; for the first time in a long time she felt her Inner rear her head and she snapped. "Who the FUCK are you calling BITCH you silver haired FREAK" she spat at him as she curled her hand into a fist by her side. Her question was met with a few beats of silence before a groan was heard followed quickly by the sound of several people guffawing. "Oh fuck curse at me again bitch" he groaned and grinned disgustingly at her; she looked at him in disbelief before looking at the others. Deidara and Kisame were clutching their stomachs and trying to stay upright with how hard they were laughing; Kakuzu looked mildly impressed that she had the nerve to stand up to an Akatsuki. And Itachi; well Itachi just looked bored with the whole situation.

Stifling his laughter, Kisame glanced at Itachi and when the dark haired man looked back he raised an eyebrow. "She would be perfect yeah?" a voice from the other end called out calmly but still with traces of laughter in his voice. At the question Sakura went rigid once again; narrowing her eyes, she took slow measured steps back as she watched them. "Wouldn't try it bitch" the amused voice of Hidan called to her. She felt herself getting riled again and, much to his disappointment she noticed, she managed to reign her temper in. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about but I'm not going anywhere with you" she said stiffly. Quickly readjusting the gloves on her hands, Sakura brought her fist down into the sand before anyone could blink. She heard a few muted shouts as sand and dust exploded up into the air; using the confusion she took off in a random direction as fast as her feet would take her. She was already running low on chakra as it was; and she really didn't want to have to open her reserves if she didn't have to.

As out of it as Sakura was with her thoughts, which she knew better than to not pay attention in a time like this, she didn't hear the whistle of air as a scythe swung dangerously close to her. Yelping slightly, she twisted to the side in time to avoid a fatal hit; however, the first blade made contact with her side and she grit her teeth as blood splattered the sand and she jumped backwards quickly. She barely had time to move before another weapon was tossed her way; judging by the way she suddenly felt drained she guessed it was Samehada that had just flown past her head. Sakura pushed herself backwards yet again; this time she landed outside of the giant cloud of dust and sand she had created. Pressing a hand to her side she tried to quickly close the wound with her chakra; luck apparently just was not on her side today.

Something dark and wiry shot out of the dust and before she could so much as move she found herself being hauled into the air none too gently by a giant thick stream of… Was that hair? She coughed and blood trickled down her lip and chin as she watched the dust settle; the group of men looked calm and relaxed as they stood there watching her with, dare she think it, admiration? She scoffed as best she could with the hair wrapped around her neck. "Haruno-san this could have gone much differently if you had simply listened to us" Itachis smooth and soft voice cut through the fog currently moving over her mind. Cracking an eye open slightly she glared at him with as much hatred as she could muster. "Like….. F-fucking… H-hell…." She sputtered out; the wound on her side beginning to bleed more profusely as her arms hung limp and numb at her side.

"Oi Kakuzu ease up on the bitch or you'll kill her. I want my fun with her too!" she vaguely heard Hidan pout and glare at his partner. The next thing she knew she was dropping rather quickly to the ground but for some reason she just couldn't bring herself to care. As she let her eyes fall shut she dimly realized that rather suddenly her body was caught up in something strong and warm. So she let herself embrace it; her body curled into the warmth and a small sigh escaped before her mind slid from consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who have followed and/or favorited this story. As I said before this isn't my first fanfiction but it IS my first Naruto fanfic. If any details are incorrect I apologize; constructive criticism is more than welcome so please feel free to express your thoughts. During the week I managed to work out some things. The first being that the chapters will come every Sunday. And I will be honest with you: I have a general idea of where this story is going to go but I have no idea how long it will play out. I'm going to try and give Sakura time to get to know each of the Akatsuki members as individuals before taking them to Konoha. If there is anyone else you'd like to see her with shoot me a pm and i'll see what I can do. However the main pairing for this story IS AkaSaku. Anyway thank you guys again! Enjoy the new chapter! Let me know what you think :D

Chapter 2

A low groan echoed through the quiet grey room; sheets shifted as a figure moved around and then slowly sat up. Sakura lifted her hand to her eyes and rubbed gently; she could feel a headache forming but she was still confused. Opening her eyes slowly, she blinked once and then twice as she let her eyes adjust to the dim lighting in the room; as she looked around all she saw was a nightstand, a desk and a chair and the bed she was on. Across the room, however, there was a smaller room attached which made her assume it was a bathroom. Standing up slowly, Sakura gently probed her head for any longer lasting injuries before she decided she was fine to move.

As she moved her hands she caught a glint of something in the low light; looking down she spied two thin identical bracelets on her wrists. 'Chakra controlling bracelets' she thought with a snort. So apparently they weren't ALL stupid. Sighing, she made her way to the restroom and closed the door behind her; she still felt filthy so she stripped down as she turned the water on. Stepping under the warm spray she thought to herself that she should be grateful they at least gave her a room with a bathroom. Water sluiced down her shoulders and between her breasts as her hair stuck against her shoulders and neck; after the exams when she had cut it she had kept it short for a while but finally decided to try and grow it out a little bit as she got older.

Tilting her head back, Sakura closed her eyes and let the warm water work its magic over her body; after she had washed her body and her hair, she stepped out and grabbed a towel. Wrapping it around her body, Sakura made her way from the bathroom; as she stood in the doorway she cursed her own stupidity for not having looked for her stuff before she got in the shower. Quickly looking around, she sighed in relief when she spotted her bag lying against the nightstand; walking over, Sakura dropped the towel and bent down to dig through the bag. And that was how she found herself with her fist planted in a face a few minutes later. The door had slammed open and on pure instinct alone she had whirled around and thrust it into the face of the intruder; all the while being butt naked and freezing with the cool air on her skin.

She cursed under her breath as she hastily pulled on the extra clothes she had brought along; short sleeved white shirt with a pair of sweatpants. Considering the mission she was supposed to have gone on she wasn't really expecting this turn of events; so of course she did pack for her "abduction".

"What the FUCK BITCH?" she heard a groan and what sounded suspiciously like a hand touching somewhere inappropriate before she turned and glared hard at the silver haired man who was hastily readjusting the tent in his pants. She groaned and flopped on the bed; running her hands through her still damp pink locks. "Of all people why did they send YOU?" she snapped venomously which only caused him to grin and leer at her as he stood up to his full height. "Keep talking like that bitch. You have no idea what it does to me" he sneered at her which in turn caused her to let out a very unladylike snort. "Oh I'm sure I have a fairly good idea of what it does to you you sick fuck" she muttered as she dug around in her bag again for a brush to untangle her hair. As she worked it through her hair she sighed quietly before turning to look at Hidan; he was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed and that same sick leer on his face. "So? I'm assuming you aren't here for a social call" she said icily as she stuffed her brush back in her bag and stood up.

"Damn you aren't as stupid as your hair makes you look" he laughed hard as her face turned several shades of red. Her hand curled into a fist and she took a menacing step forward; her chakra might have been out of her reach but that didn't mean she couldn't beat the shit out of him until he begged her to just end it. "Hidan. That's enough" a cool voice called from behind them. Sakura didn't even need to turn to see who it was; that voice would forever been ingrained in her mind. "Itachi-san. Glad someone with a small amount of sanity is here. Now wherever we are going to go can we just go please?" she said bluntly before walking around Hidan. However, the man was not to be ignored; as she walked towards Itachi, he reached out and let his large but surprisingly soft hand take her ass in a firm grip. She stopped and the only sign of what was about to happen next was the twitch of her shoulders just before she turned; Itachi made no move to stop her and had Sakura been facing him she would have maybe caught the small glimpse of amusement flashing in his eyes before it was gone again.

Turning violently, Sakura threw her fist first into his gut; causing his back to arch forward and he groaned as he bent forward. Then her knee met his face violently and he went flying through not one but two cement walls. The crash echoed through the buildings and caused someone somewhere slightly nearby to groan and curse loudly. "DAMMIT HIDAN" could be heard through the hallways. And the situation must have been to much for her poor brain because as soon as Sakura heard that she burst out laughing; she clutched her stomach and a few minutes later she calmed down enough to follow Itachi through the winding hallways. "I apologize for that Itachi-san" Sakura said quietly. Why she was apologizing when they had kidnapped her was beyond her; maybe she just didn't want to die. "Hidan deserved it. He's a fool" was all the response she got. They moved through the rest of the hallways in silence; a few minutes later found Itachi pushing a door open and Sakura following behind.

Sakura couldn't help but be more than slightly amazed as she looked around at what was obviously the kitchen; there was an island with black and white tiles. A few bar stools sat behind it; all of which were occupied but Sakura didn't pay them any attention as her eyes moved. There was a stainless steel refrigerator with the freezer on the bottom being a pull out; she could see why they would need a huge one like it. The room itself was plain but the appliances all gave it the friendly appeal that had Sakura smiling slightly.

"Oi oi. Not gonna stand there all day yeah? Come sit" a soft slightly feminine yet still clearly masculine voice spoke from over near the bar stool. Sakura tilted her head as her eyes passed over Kisame who currently stood at the stove; to say she was surprised was an understatement. "Mmmm" was her only response as she slid into an empty stool far far away from Deidara and Kakuzu; Deidara simply giving her a knowing grin and Kakuzu simply giving her an unimpressed yet impassive glance. "So I'm guesing Hidan the dumbass got a little friendly with ya did he Pinky?" came a rough amused voice by the stove which caused Sakura to look away from the blonde explosionist.

Sighing in aggravation, Sakura sat up taller. "Lets just cut the crap okay? Why the hell did you bring me here?" she asked bluntly; narrowing her eyes as she glanced at Itachi who had been silent up to this point. He seemed to be the one in control of things now; but she thought he had died in his battle with Sasuke… As she sat there pondering and watching him she didn't notice the dead silence that had descended over the room; she snapped out of her thoughts when Itachi began to speak. "It was a matter of convenience. You saw us. We simply couldn't allow that knowledge to get back to Konoha. But. Since you are here you might as well make yourself useful" he stated as he looked right at her. That was when she noticed his eyes; when she had seen him at the bored of Suna and Kona he had had his usual Sharingan activated. But now his eyes were dark; grey and dark and brooding and deep. Sakura narrowed her eyes; from what she understood about the Mangekyou Sharingan the user would go blind after prolonged use. But considering she had thought he was dead what did she really know about him? Sakura shook herself of her thoughts and then frowned. "Wait so if you knew I was there why did you let me see you?" she asked; curious and kind of pissed off at herself for her delayed reaction at the time.

"We could have just killed you. You would fetch quite the amount according to the Bingo Book" Kakuzu so kindly pointed out without looking up from counting his money. At that moment Hidan chose to come barging through the door; he looked around and then grinned when he spotted her. Walking quickly, he slid into the stool on the outside effectively blocking her in as Deidara chose that moment to scoot over. She groaned and banged her head on the counter; earning her laughs from several of the members around her.

"Kakuzu is correct. We could have chosen to kill you. But we didn't. That would have been quite a waste. From what I am too understand you are quite skilled in not only the medical field but you have all the traits of Tsunade-sama herself correct?" Itachi spoke once again. Sakura lifted her head slowly with a frown on her face; her eyes caught his and once again she found herself drowning in their darkness. It was only when Hidan slid his arm around her shoulders that she snapped out of it again. "Oi touch me again and I'll cut of your dick and feed it to you" she snapped as she threw his arm off her shoulder so violently it sent him sprawling on the floor.

"My fucking Jashin I think I'm in love" she heard the crazy bastard mutter from the floor. Kisame chuckled as he finished up at the stove; the next thing she knew there was a plate of some wonderful smelling concoction sitting in front of her. Blinking, she looked down and then, to everyones surprise, she squealed excitedly; he had made her blueberry pancakes with scrambled eggs and sausage and two pieces of buttered white toast. Not even thinking twice about it, Sakura grabbed her fork and began shoveling food in her mouth faster than she could chew; meanwhile, the others simply gawked at the girl who so trustingly ate what was placed in front of her.

"Eerm…. You didn't think it was poisoned yeah?" came a hesitant voice from nearby her. She paused mid-chew; the result was her cheeks puffing out making her look like a chipmunk and then a round of guffawing met her ears. Blushing furiously, Sakura chewed as quickly as possible without choking before she spoke. "Why would you have wasted the time to kidnap me if you were just going to poison me?" she asked as she turned to give him a look as if to say he was stupid. Deidara blushed hard and stuttered as he looked away and grumbled under his breath; Sakura couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle as she watched him. "This is very well done Kisame-san.." she said hesitantly; she wasn't sure what to make of the whole situation.

None of them seemed to know what to make of the situation actually; they were just as confused by her behavior as she was with theirs. As she finished eating she mulled over the chances of her making an escape; even if she did get away there was no way she could outrun all of them. Her two biggest threats probably were Kisame and Deidara; Kisame had that chakra sapping sword and Deidara could blow her up in a second flat from the air if he wanted too. The thought was sobering and she stood quickly to make her way to the sink; she didn't notice the looks being tossed around as she washed her plate and utensils.

"Sakura…. As light hearted as things are right now we do need you to understand that if you try to escape…. We WILL kill you" Kisame's voice floated over to her as she finished up and set her dishes in the drying rack to the side. Then she turned and folded her arms across her chest; she let her eyes travel from one man to another quickly. Deidara was giving her an odd look; one she didn't care to read too much into right now if at all. Kakuzu had only briefly looked up at her before he went back to counting his money. Hidan was being… Well Hidan; creepy and leering at her in a way that didn't necessarily make her uncomfortable. But again: she didn't want to go into THAT feeling at all either. Kisame was simply watching her; gauging her reaction she guessed. And so was Itachi.

Sighing, she shrugged her shoulders and cocked a hip against the counter by the sink as she tilted her head back; she had no doubt that they'd kill her. She would just have to bide her time until an opportunity arose that she might be able to get away. But first she would have to get rid of these stupid chakra bracelets; she glanced down at them and then looked at Itachi. "You should know I wont try to run. I'm not stupid and I'm no fool. I couldn't get away from you even if I tried. So are these really necessary?" she asked quietly as she watched him closely. Itachis eyes flickered to the bracelets for a moment before he met her eyes again. The two stood in the silent room just sizing each other up; it was a heartbeat longer until Itachi spoke again.

"No I suppose they aren't. You have been very calm about the situation Sakura. From what I have been told you have a rather… Explosive temper" he said; and if she wasn't mistaken there was a slight lift of his lips and she couldn't help gawking at him before it disappeared.

Shaking herself once again, she found herself doing that a lot lately, Sakura just smiled slightly at him. "Yeah well what good is that anger going to do me right now?" she said calmly. Then she unfolded her arms and held her wrists out to him; she waited with bated breath as he simply watched her. Then, before she could so much as blink, he was leaning over her with her wrists in his large but gentle hands. His lips brushed her ears as he bent over her slightly; Itachi wasn't the tallest but he sure was taller than her.

"Do not make me regret this Sakura" he said quietly; his breath fanned her ear and she felt a shiver run down her spine as his lips caressed her ear. Then it was done; she felt her chakra flood through her and all she could do was gawk as her arms fell to her side and she watched as Itachi walked out of the room. She didn't notice the amused glances she was getting from the others as she simply stood there wondering what the hell she had managed to get herself into.


End file.
